Pacific Crest Trail Will be Relocated in Keeping With Original Vision

May 27, 2008 updated May 28, 2008

A coalition of conservation groups has put together a landmark plan which will eventually lead to a big change for hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT).

A recently donated conservation easement for the trail will allow the PCT to be relocated from the floor of the Mojave Desert to the crest of the Tehachapi Mountains. The conservation easement is valued at $12 million and is being donated by Tejon Ranch. The trail will be rerouted over a number of years in keeping with the original vision for the PCT, following the preferred route agreed upon by the U.S. Forest Service and the Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA).

"We are excited that the Pacific Crest Trail will have a secure and permanent corridor as part of the Tejon Ranch Conservancy. This reroute of the PCT will allow a much improved user experience in this wonderful region of California," said Liz Bergeron, executive director of the PCTA.

The easement will permanently protect 37 miles of trail and 10,000 acres of trail corridor. This will be the largest relocation project since the trail's official completion in 1993, and will fill the largest gap where the PCT does not follow the originally designated trail route or the crest of a mountain range.